Plant arrangement with a holder for objects therein

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to securing gift items to a bouquet with the aid of a special support, preferably in the form of a wire bundle from which individual wires are splayed and provided with a mounted fastener to which the gift items can be adhered, for example.

The present invention relates to the configuration of a floralarrangement, especially of a bouquet.

Floral arrangements and bouquets of flowers and other plants are popularmeans of decoration which are commercially available as arranged by aflorist or at home from garden produce and frequently presented as agift.

The objective of the present invention is based on providing improvedtechnical possibilities of configuring a floral arrangement.

For this purpose there is provided in accordance with the invention afloral arrangement comprising an integrated support for gift items. Thesupport comprises a plurality of bendable supporting rods, circularlybundled and firmly held together at one end by a common supporting base,and at least one gift item secured to one of the supporting rods andheld in the floral arrangement by the support.

The invention relates furthermore to a method of configuring one suchfloral arrangement with the gift item integrated therein in which thegift item is secured to a support comprising a plurality of bendablesupporting rods, circularly bundled and firmly held together at one endby a common supporting base and the floral arrangement is arrangedaround the support.

In conclusion, the invention relates to a corresponding support for giftitems in such a floral arrangement including a bundle of bendablesupporting rods, circularly bundled and firmly held together at one endby a common supporting base for securing gift items in the floralarrangement.

The invention thus relates to both products and a method. Accordingly,the following description, including the aspects, is to be understood asimplicitly disclosing both categories, even though not expresslyemphasized.

The invention pertains, in general, to decorative floral arrangements ofall kinds, but preferably to bouquets of flowers. To make forsimplicity, the following merely makes reference to bouquets, which isnot to be interpreted as being restricted thereto.

The gist of the invention is to permit much more diverse means ofconfiguring bouquets, than hitherto, in finding a much wider and morefavorable scope of application by enabling items other than flowers tobe secured therein by technically favorable means. “Items” in thiscontext are intended to cover all sorts of items other than flowers thatcan be arranged and secured to good effect in a bouquet, but especiallysuch articles as, for example, goodies, miniature portions of jam orcoffee or other delicacies, miniature bottles of drinks, e.g. harddrinks or sparkling wine, small playthings and typical baby articles,such as pacifiers and the like, indeed all items attractive fordecorative reasons or desirable in a gift bouquet as a gift item orhaving symbolizing content.

Thus, as an alternative to the classic gift hamper the invention nowmakes it possible, for example, to arrange a smaller and thus morecost-effective variant in the form of a bouquet having added astheticappeal whilst also being more handy and easier to transport than a gifthamper; it often being the case that such gift hampers are motivatedmore symbolically and need to be filled with a basically unwanted wealthof delicacies.

The classic bouquet presented as a token of gratitude when invited to aparty can now be configured more ingeneous and individualized by itbeing integrated with small “non-floral” presents; this also having theappeal that these small gift items outlast the actual bouquet and arethus appreciated particularly with affection when the all to manyflowers, as usually presented at such events, have wilted.

It is also possible that the non-floral gift items may take the form ofsmall scrolls of paper expressing good wishes or a poem, or indeed as abanknote, which can now be presented to much better effect in a bouquetthan in an envelope, etc.

In conclusion, bouquets may also be configured in accordance with aparticular event, e.g. including small playthings and goodies as apresent for children, the bouquet in this context making for addedcharm. For example, on the occasion of a marriage it is now possible todecorate a bouquet with pacifiers and the like.

Yet another possibility of making use of the invention outside of thegift area is in product presentation. Thus, products up to a criticalsize intended for presentation in a showroom or offered for sale orpresented by a salesman can now be attractively arranged in such abouquet. This makes for added attention particularly to products whichare inherently less decorative and original in thus making them standout from a large number of items on sale. It is thus conceivable, forexample, for representatives for pharmaceutical products when visiting ahospital or physician to extend the products as a token and advertisinggift in a bouquet decorated in accordance with the invention with trialpackages of the pharmaceutical products concerned. Similar possibilitiesexist, of course, just as well for many other fields and products andrelating more particularly to window dressing.

To enables these items, which are often heavier than the bouquet, to besecured and positioned decoratively and safely in the bouquet, a specialsupport is provided in accordance with the invention comprising aplurality of supporting rods. The supporting rods are each connected toa common supporting base and serve to secure the items at a locationremote from the supporting base.

Due to the items not needing to be secured to the individual flowers andthe like of the bouquet itself, they instead being configured in andaround the bouquet by a separate support for secure mounting, they cannow be safely positioned and transported in view of their added weightand can also be much better secured to special decorative locations inthe bouquet. Even when the bouquet has wilted and thus become limp, thearrangement of the items remains steady and maintains its visual appeal.

One advantage of the support in accordance with the invention, ascompared to securing items on wires individual bent as required, is thatby a dextrous arrangement of several items in the support the weight asa whole can now be distributed evenly, it being likewise possible, whensecuring more heavy individual items in the bouquet, to arrange these onopposite sides of the bouquet to create a certain counterbalance.

Yet another advantage is that the supporting rods of the support areinterconnected so that no single supporting rod is able to twist out ofplace under the weight of the item secured thereto, in causing the itemto slip down to the lowest position attainable by turning of thesupporting rod.

In this arrangement the support is configured so that the supportingrods are bendable, i.e. preferably plastically bendable, in thusenabling each supporting rod and thus also the complete support to beadapted individually to the configuration as desired and also to thedimensions of the item to be secured thereto. For this purpose, thesupporting rods may be made of wire, plastic-coated wire or the like.Preferred materials for the supporting rods are bright wire or steelwire varnished or refined in some other way, e.g. by copper-plating.Bright steel wire is an inexpensive solution offering high strength.Refining the wire prevents, for example, the water in which the bouquetstands from become rusty in appearance, which is, however, of noparticular disadvantage. Pure copper wire is less favorable, due to itbeing too soft and, on the other hand, too expensive. Blued steel, asexperience as shown, tends to be incompatible with plants, especiallyflowers, this applying likewise to galavanized steel. Unlikecopper-sheathed steel wire, bright steel wire also has the notunsubstantial advantage nowadays of not being adulterated and thuscondusive to recycling. Apart from this, steel is non-toxic for theenvironment and a raw material involving less energy in product thanaluminum, for example.

In accordance with one special aspect of the invention securing the itemto the supporting rod is facilitated by a special fastener which by itsexpansion and shape, on the one hand, offers better means of securingthe item and, on the other, comprises a means for connecting to thesupporting rod. It is particularly practical when the supporting rod canbe inserted in at least two different directions into the fastener sothat the fastener can be fitted by different ways and meansgeometrically.

One practical variant provides for the fastener having an adhesivesurface area to which the item can be simply adhered. The adhesiveconnection is sufficiently durable and can be undertaken by the florist,housewife or any other person without proving a nuisance in securing awealth of different items, i.e. in making the attachment as simple aspossible in handling the support in accordance with the invention whenattaching items to the bouquet. For this purpose, the adhesive surfacearea may be coated self-adhesive or also serve to secure the item with adouble-sided sticky film or pad.

One material preferred for the fastener is polythene which, on the onehand, can be injection-molded at very low cost in practical shapes and,on the other is highly condusive to recycling.

When the plastics material used, for instance a suitable polythene, isrelatively soft, there is in addition the advantage of the fastener,especially the adhesive surface area, being flexible in thus enabling itto be adapted to items which are not truly flat. In addition topolythene other soft plastics, including various sorts of rubber comeinto consideration. When the fastener, which is just as possible, ismade of wood, metal or the like, this advantage of flexible adaptationis not available.

Prior to being bent to shape, the support comprises a bundle of rods ofelongated shape and preferably oriented substantially in parallel toform, more particularly, a dense bundle of rods in contact with eachother lengthwise. In this arrangement, the rods are directly connectedto each other at one end. For example, one such support may be heldtogether at one end of the bundle by a ferrule slipped over the bundle.One particularly simple and effective way of connecting the rods to eachother is to crimp the ferrule to the bundle of rods. As an alternativeto crimping, among other things, soldering, adhering, welding, twisting,potting are all possible, with or without the ferrule. On the otherhand, it is quite possible to also configure the support in accordancewith the invention in one piece, the term “secure connection” of therods as used in the claims including, of course, this case of aone-piece configuration.

One favorable geometry for a dense bundle of rods in contact with eachother intended to be held together, for example, by a round ferrule, isa symmetrical arrangement of six rods in cross-section which in turnfeatures a round or hexagonal cross-section. This thus achieves a“hexagonal dense package” so-to-speak, for example including a centerrod surrounded by six rods arranged symmetrical thereabout, or alsoincluding six further rods arranged between two each outer rods, i.e.totalling thirteen, or also with a total of nineteen rods. In general,however, a support including seven rods is quite sufficient, since it isseldom the case that more than seven items need to be secured thereto.It may, of course, prove useful in some cases to make use of two or morerods for a particularly secure attachment of a single item.

It is, of course, just as conceivable to make use of two or moresupports in accordance with the invention for a floral arrangement orbouquet in accordance with the invention and the method for theproduction thereof.

Furthermore, a ring surrounding the bundle of rods may be provided forsliding up and down thereon to facilitate splaying individual rods fromthe bundle at some wanted position lengthwise along the bundle and toadditionally hold the bundle together by being shifted to the lowermostposition at which a rod is splayed. This ring may be, for example, atubular piece fabricated from the same type of material as used for theferrule already desired, for which here again bright steel orcopper-plated steel tubing is given preference. To prevent the ring fromslipping out of place, and thus to safeguard its location, it may alsobe made of plastics material or coated with plastics material orlacquered.

When bending the support in configuring the bouquet in and about thesupport, and when securing the items to the supporting rods, a stand maybe used in accordance with the invention for the support which, forexample, has a suitable opening to receive the ferrule holding thebundle together. By its standing surface area and own weight the standis able to hold the support and the bouquet, or it may also be providedwith a screw clamp for clamping to a table edge or the like. Preferably,this stand is not a part supplied with each support, it instead beingpurchased once, for example, by a florist and then made use ofsubsequently for a large number of bouquets.

In summary, the invention can thus be described as follows: what isinvolved is a rod assembly for integrating in bouquets and the like as asupport for light to medium-weight items such as e.g. gift items securedto the rod assembly, whereby the rod assembly consists of a plurality ofsingle rods bundled together circularly and firmly held together at thebottom end, above which the individual rods can be splayed and bent asrequired.

The invention will now be detailed by way of a preferred exampleembodiment as shown in the drawings whereby the features disclosed maybe substantial to the invention singly or also in combinations of thatas shown, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a support in accordance with the inventionprior to it being splayed;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the support as shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view of the support corresponding to that as shown in FIG.1, but in the splayed condition;

FIG. 4 is again a view of the support corresponding to that as shown inFIG. 1, but here with a ring slipped over the bundle of rods of thesupport;

FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to that as shown in FIG. 2 but includingthe ring as shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a view corresponding to that as shown in FIG. 3 but includingthe ring as shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a front view of a fastener for the support as shown in FIGS.1–6;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the fastener as shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a side view of the fastener as shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a side view of a stand for the support as shown in FIGS. 1–6;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the stand as shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a front view of an alternative embodiment of a stand for thesupport as shown in FIGS. 1–6;

FIG. 13 is a side view of the stand as shown in FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a plan view of the stand as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13;

FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic illustration of the support as shown in FIGS.4–6 including supporting rods bent to shape and showing items secured tothe supporting rods by means of fasteners as shown in FIGS. 7–9;

FIG. 16 is an illustration of a bouquet including the support integratedtherein as shown in FIG. 15 and items supported in the bouquet by thesupport.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 there is illustrated the support inaccordance with the invention in its simplest basic form, comprising abundle of rods 2, extending parallel to each other, which are firmlyheld together by means of a ferrule 3 (not shown in detail) slipped overone end and crimped in place. The connection made by the ferrule 3prevents any rods 2 from being pulled or twisted out of place. However,the rods 2 may be plastically bent into practical any desired shape fromthe hexagonal arrangement as shown in FIG. 2 about a central identicalround rod 2.

Referring now to FIG. 3 there is illustrated a simple splayedarrangement of the seven rods 2 whereby, of course, any other shape isalso achievable in which the ends of the rods 2 end at any other greatlydifferent level by suitably bending or cutting the rods to length.

Referring now to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, corresponding to the FIGS. 1, 2 and3, there is illustrated how a ring 4 can be slipped over the bundle ofrods 2—as shown in FIG. 6—to a special level to form a reference edgefor splaying the rods 2 from the bundle. In this arrangement it is, ofcourse, just as possible to shift the ring 4 lower down, after havingsplayed individual rods 2 to then splay further rods 2 at a differentreference edge. In any case, however, the ring 4 at the end at which therods 2 are held together, i.e. the ferrule 3, provides for the next suchreference level for holding the bundle of rods 2 together to thusprevent a larger weight at any one rod end from splaying one of the rods2 more than is desired.

Except for its length the ring 4 corresponds to the ferrule 3 but is notcrimped in place and thus can be shifted up and down the rod bundle. Therods 2, ferrule 3 and ring 4 are all made of usual bright steel which,to prevent corrosion, may be lightly oiled.

Due to the hexagonal arrangement a round shape of the bundle of rods 2is made possible which is easy to hold together by means of a usualtubular piece as ferrule 3. Bundles other than the hexagonal arrangementare of course, just as possible, more particularly cross-sectionalshapes of the rods 2 other than round or hexagonal. Thus, the term“circular” bundle always refers in this context to a bundle having anapproximately circular cross-section.

Referring now to FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 there is illustrated a typicalfastener 5 including a large plane adhesive surface area 6 and a peg 7contacting the adhesive surface area 6 by a flat and featuring twoinsertion openings 8 and 9 for optional insertion of the rods 2 as shownin FIGS. 1–6. Due to the insertion hole 9 located parallel to theadhesive surface area 6, the peg 7 comprises a base widened in onedirection. The fastener 5 is injection-molded in PE.

Referring now to FIG. 9 there is illustrated a double-sided adhesive pad10 shaped mainly like the adhesive surface area 6 and made of a flexiblefoamed material. With the adhesive pad 10 speedy and simple attachmentof a great variety of items to the adhesive surface area 6 is possible.The flexibility of the foamed material enables the adhesive pad 10 toadapt to curved surfaces of items to be secured by a special surfacearea in thus assuring a good adherence. In addition, the fastener 5illustrated in this case is so soft that it permits adapting to acertain extent to the curvature of the corresponding surface of the itembeing secured.

Referring now to FIGS. 10 and 11 there is illustrated a possibleembodiment of a stand 11 for the support as shown. The stand 11comprises a base plate 12 having four tappings for optional screwassembly to a table top or the like. A tubular piece 13 protrudesupright centrally from the base plate 12, the free inner cross-sectionof which corresponds to the ferrule 3 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6 with aslight clearance. Thus, when the stand 11 is placed on a table, or isscrewed or secured thereto by some other means, the support 1 can besimply inserted with the ferrule 3 into the tubular piece 13 for it tothen stand upright securely held in place. This stand 11 too, is asimple metal part which to good effect is painted, although, of course,a plastics material part may be used just as well.

Referring now to FIGS. 12, 13 and 14 there is illustrated anothervariant 14 for a stand comprising a tubular piece 13 for inserting theferrule 3 of the support 1 corresponding to the stand 11 as shown inFIGS. 10 and 11. In this case, however, the tubular piece 13 is appliedto a screw clamp 15 for clamping to the edge of a table in theflorist<<s shop, for example. Thus, as compared to the screw fastener ofthe stand 11 as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, this makes for a securementwhich is easier to release and relocate. In this case too, this stand 14may be made of metal and preferably painted, although, of course, usinga plastics material, at least for part of the stand 15, is just aspossible.

Referring now to FIG. 15 there is illustrated how use is made of thesupport 1 in accordance with the invention as shown in FIGS. 4–6, itbeing evident how the individual rods 2 of the support 1 have beensplayed from the bundle and individually bent to shape at a level asdictated by the ring 4. Attached to the ends of the individual rods 2are fasteners 5 (not shown in FIG. 15) as evident from FIGS. 7, 8 and 9.Various items 16 are adhered to each of the adhesive surface area 6 viaadhesive pad 10, these items being in this example miniature packages ofdelicacies, namely of coffee, chocolate and goodies as well as aminiature bottle of sparkling wine and a miniature glass of honey. Alsoindicated as a suitable item is a symbolized lucky penny on a magnifiedscale. It will be appreciated that, of course, any other item may besecured thereto, including gift items having a certain value intended tobe presented within a bouquet in a decorative fashion simply by beingattached thereto. For example, the support in accordance with theinvention could likewise lend itself to securing small tools, electricalappliances, optical articles, etc.

Depending on the shape of each item 16 to be secured and its position inthe overall arrangement, a choice can be made between the two insertionopenings 8 and 9 of the fastener 5 and by appropriately bending the endsof the support rods in achieving an appealing geometry of thearrangement individually. In doing so, the support 1 is held in one ofthe stands 11 and 14 as shown in FIGS. 10 to 4 so that both hands arefree to work the desired geometrical configuration.

In principle the ensemble as shown in FIG. 15 of the items 16 held bythe support 1 in accordance with the invention already makes for adecorative presentation and thus simply using the support 1 fitted outwith the items would be enough. However, in referring now to FIG. 16there is illustrated diagrammatically how this is preferably integratedin a bouquet. For this purpose the support 1 including the portion ofthe support rods between the ferrule 3 and the ring 4, i.e. the straightportion, is clasped in the bundle of floral stems, whereby foradditional support a tie with a cord 18 could be provided, as shown inFIG. 16. Then, above the bundle from the straight portion of the supportand floral stems a splayed presentation of the gift items within thefloral arrangement materializes in the form of a bouquet 17 adorned withgift items. It is in this way that the bouquet 17 can be presented andalso placed in flower vase. Where necessary, use is made of a basecorresponding to the stand 11 as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 to steady thebouquet in the vase, although this is not preferred in general due tothe base spoiling the effect of the bouquet 17. When the vase issufficiently narrow-necked, and as long as the arrangement of the items16 is balanced, the bouquet will remain upright without any furtherexpedients.

1. A bouquet of flowers including a bundle of floral stems and a supportfor non-floral items comprising at least three bendable supporting rodssecured at one end circularly bundled by a common supporting base andincluding at least one non-floral item secured to one of said supportingrods and supported by said support in said bouquet, said support beingintegrated within said bouquet and means for clasping the supportingrods and the support in said bundle of floral stems.
 2. The bouquet asset forth in claim 1 wherein said item is a gift item.
 3. The bouquet asset forth in claim 1 wherein said supporting rods are made substantiallyof bright or refined steel wire.
 4. The bouquet as set forth in claim 1wherein said item is secured to said supporting rod via a fastener inwhich said supporting rod is inserted.
 5. The bouquet as set forth inclaim 4 wherein said item is adhered to an adhesive surface area of saidfastener.
 6. The bouquet as set forth in claim 4 wherein said fasteneris made substantially of polyethylene.
 7. A method of configuring abouquet of flowers including a bundle of floral stems as set forth inclaim 1 including a non-floral item integrated therein, comprising thefollowing steps: a) securing said non-floral item to a supportcomprising a plurality of bendable supporting rods held at one endcircularly bundled by a common supporting base and b) arranging saidbouquet of flowers about said support, therein integrating said supportwithin said bouquet and clasping it in said bundle of floral stems. 8.The method as set forth in claim 7 wherein said support is held in astand in configuring said floral arrangement.
 9. A bouquet of flowersincluding a bundle of floral stems and a support for non-floral itemscomprising a plurality of bendable supporting rods secured at one endcircularly bundled by a common supporting base and including at leastone non-floral item secured to one of said supporting rods and supportedby said support in said bouquet, said support being integrated withinsaid bouquet and means for clasping the supporting rods and the supportin said bundle of floral stems, and wherein said item is secured to saidsupporting rod via a fastener in which said supporting rod is inserted,and wherein said supporting rod is insertable in two differentdirections into said fastener.
 10. A method of configuring a bouquet offlowers including a bundle of floral stems including a non-floral itemintegrated therein, comprising the following steps: a) securing saidnon-floral item to a support comprising at least three supporting rodsheld at one end circularly bundled by a common supporting base and b)arranging said bouquet of flowers about said support, thereinintegrating said support within said bouquet and clasping it in saidbundle of floral stems, wherein prior to individually bending saidsupport as desired a shiftable ring is shifted to a desired level,resulting in said supporting rods being splayed and subsequently bent toshape from said bundle at the location of said ring.